Bottle capping machine



March 19, 1935. R w VON s ow ET AL 1,994,736

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed April 11, 1935 Patented Mar. 19, 1935 Rudolf w. von Sydow and Edward J. McCoy,

Saginaw, Mich, assignors to Apex Paper Products Corporation, Saginaw, Mich, a corporation of Michigan 1 Application April 11, 1933, SeriaI N o. 665,532

6 Claims. (01.226-92) This invention relates to machines for affixing caps to milk bottlesand the like, particularly those caps which have a circumferential flange, U-shaped in cross section to fit snugly overthe enlarged bead on the mouth of the bottle.

A milk bottle cap of the kind described is shown in United States .Patent No. 1,696,742, to

von Sydow. Caps of slightly modified. design can also be handled by the machine.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive bottle-capping device,

adaptable, with slightchanges in itsmounting, to be actuated by hand or by the mechanism of any of the various known milk-bottle filling machines. V a

The improvements which are the subject of this application'have to do especially with cape feeding devices having a stationary cap-cone tainer or hopper of the type disclosed and claimed in our co-pendingapplication for U. S. Patent, Serial No. 639,644; In respect. tofsome features of the cap container. and theassociated feeding mechanism the present, application is a continuation-in-part of the previous application. a v v Qne feature of the invention consists of an improved device for holding the caps in place; in the supply hopper andifor releasingthe caps one by one. This device frictionally engages the peripheral wall of the cap, flange instead of engaging under the edge of the cap, as have previous devicesused for this purpose.-- When a cap is released one edgeof .it can not catch or hang'on theholding device and so be tilted. as it drops, to clog the cap-feeding mechanism and interfere with the feeding of caps downward and out of the'conta'iner. 1

This improved holding and releasing device is suited for use not only in the feeding from a container of milk-bottle caps of the particular type described, butis also adaptedfor releasing singly from the bottom of a stack other bottle caps, jar covers, or disks of any'sort'having a peripheraledge or flange sufficientlywide to be engaged frictionally by the face of the holding device. j I J The invention also includes anovel device for actuating the cap-releasing mechanism just referred to and for actuating also'the slide ,by

which the caps are transferred, one at a time,

from the hopper to position for applying to the bottles, the arrangement being such that the cap-releasing and transferringmechanisms are driven from the same operating'element, always in proper sequence and in properly timed rela-- tion to each other.

Another feature of our present invention is a novel means whereby the cap, when being po- 1 sitioned 'over the bottle neck by means of the 5 slide, is frictionally gripped at diametrically opposite sides and is thereby held securely in position above the bottle mouth until the capping plunger descends and affixes the cap to the bottle. I 7

With the foregoing and certain other objects in. view, which will appear later in the specification, our invention comprises the devices described and claimed and the equivalents thereof.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a sideelevation, part- 1y broken away, showing a cap-applying machine embodying our. invention. Fig. '2 is a plan view, partly in section, taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a part-section along the line 3''-3 of 20 Fig. 2.

,Asds shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the mechanism embodying, our improvements consists of a cap container or vertical hopper 1' to hold a stack of caps 2, from the bottom of which the caps are removed oneata time. Means for removing the bottom cap of the supply from the stackand positioning it over the bottle to be capped consists of a slide 3 mounted in fixed ways 4. The cap-engaging end of the slide 3 is cut away at 5 to conform to the shape of a cap;

- Connecting the ways 4. is a bottom plate or slideway 6 over which slide 3 passes. Plate 6 is formed with a longitudinal slot 6a, in which cylindrical disks '7 travel back and forth. Fixed to disks? are central pins la, which are received in holes in? the slide 3. Beneath plate 6, and fastened to the pins la, is a member 8 which serves as a cross-head and which carries a stubshaft or pin 9. Pin 9 is'reciprocable fromthe position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown in dotted lines, and return. Its motion to the left, in the drawing, causes slide-3 to travel underneath hopper 1 to the left, until the cut-away part 5 of the slide is centered vertically above the axis of the bottle 10 which is to receive a cap. Whenslide 3 has been moved to the left from its positionshown in Fig. 2,;it closes off the bottom of hopper 1. A cap 2, dropped at this time from the. container, 'will rest upon the slide 3. When the slide is re tracted to the right, to its positionshown in Figs. 1 and 2, the gap will drop upon the plate 6. At the-next movement to the left of slide 3, the cap will: be pushed along plate 6'into position over the 55 bottle 10. This back-and-forth movement of pin 9, between the stations shown in full lines and dotted lines, causes slide 3 to withdraw from beneath a cap which has been released from the stack, drop it onto plate 6, and then move it into position over bottle 10.

To release the lowermost cap from the stack consists of a presser foot 11 which normally tends to project only slightly into the hopper 1 through an opening in the wall thereof, and which, by a leaf spring 12, is yieldingly pressed against and frictionally engages the outer peripheral rim' of a single bottle cap 211 in the stack. Presser foot 11 is preferably an integral part of an arm 13 which is pivoted at 14 to a fixed support.- Arm 13 is provided with a projecting lug 13d extending from the pivot 14 atright angles to the arm. Lug 13a carries an adjustable abutmentscrew '15. Presser footll is drawnback clear of the interiorv of the hopper and out of contact with the caps, into the position shown by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, by pushingscrew 15 to the left, Fig. 1.

Abutment 15 and pin 9 are aligned so that both can be engaged and actuated by the same element, which, in the form shown, is a bell crank 16, 20, having in the end of its lower arm 16 a slot 16a, which slidingly receives pin 9. Arm 16 also has on its side a projection 17' adapted to engage the end of the abutment screw 15 when arm 16 is moved to the dotted position shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of the mechanism so far described is as follows: w

A stack of caps is placed inthe container 1 ready to feed down by gravity. Referring. to Fig. 3, the lowermost cap of the stack is shown normally urged by presser foot 11 against the opposite wall of the hopper 1 and thereby held horizontally in position a so that it supports the stack of caps above it. When arm 16 has moved slide 3 to the left until projection 17 takes against screw 15, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, then screw 15 andarm 13 swing about pivot 14 and release presser foot 11 from engagement with the lowermost cap. The stack of caps then drops until the bottom cap (Fig. 3) rests upon the top face of slide 3, its new position b shown by dotted lines. Arm 16 having terminatedjits travel to the left, now begins to move slide'3 to the right in Figs. 1 and 2. Immediately upon separation of members 1'7 and 15, presser foot 11 engages the next succeeding cap of the stack in position a and supports it and the stack, leaving the bottom cap free on slide 3 in position b. The cut-away part 5 of slide 3 withdraws from beneath the cap and the latter now drops upon plate 6,1into position 0. Slide 3 is now in its farthest position to the right (Figs. 1 and 2). j

The cap in position c is now ready to be engaged by the cut-away end 5- of'slide 3. Slide'3 next reverses its travel, moves the'cap to the left and forces it between two stationary opposed beads or restrictions 18, between which the capis slightly pinched and held co-axially above bottle 10 in position d- Slide 3 and arm 16 now being at the extreme left, the stack of caps is again'released and the next succeeding bottom cap is dropped upon the slide. When arm 16 commences to moveto the right and leaves screw 15,

the presser foot 11, actuated by'spring- 12, autotimed relation to the operation of the'bottle from said" reciprocating plate at next-to-bottom cap of the stack of operations is repeated.

The mechanism described above is actuated in capping plunger by the following means; I

matically engages the peripheral wall of the and the cycle Thebell-crarik 16, 20 is pivoted tocontaine l at 19' and its arm '20 extends between two vertically reciprocable abutments 21 on a cross-head 22, which actuates the capping plunger 23. The

cross-head is fixed to a vertically reciprocating rod 22a ofthe usual bottle-filling machine. The up-and-down movement of cross-head 22 rocks the bell-crank 2 0,16 about its pivot 19 in the manner previously described,

Whenjt is desired ,to cap two bottles at a time' two rightand left-handed models of our cap-- feeding mechanisms are mounted side-by-side .in co -operative relationship to a pair of capping plungers 23, and are operated by a single arm 16. For this purpose, twoilugs 17 are provided on the arm16 and the pin .19.is lengthened to connect to the. cross-head8 of the second machinepa fragment of which is in'dicatedby the dotted] lines in Fig. 2. Dotted lines also show a portion of the arm 13, its lug 13a,'and the adjustable abutment 15 of the second machine is indicated inFig.2;' j

It is to be understood that the paper caps have flexible flanges and that each flange overlies the next cap below in" the stack, as shown in Fig 3. Consequently the degree of frictional pressure that'can be exerted by'the presser. foot 11 against the flange of cap (a is made appropriate to frica tionally hold the rim of the cap against the opposite wall of container 1 so as to hold up the stack, .but the pressure is not great enough todistort j the cap or the flexible flange. I Y

Havingthus described our invention, what we claim and desire tosecureby Letters Patent is: 1. In combination a stationary hopper for a, stack of bottle caps, a presser foot yieldingly supportedby said hopper and having a substantially flat face positioned to frictionally'engage the rim of the next-to-bottom cap of said stackyand normally to force said cap against anfopposite wall of the hopper, whereby the stack is sup ported: during a part of the operation 'of the machine, a reciprocable plate beneath the hopper for alternately closing: and opening the bottom thereof, a slideway beneath said hopper and plate for supporting said plate, an arm pivoted at one end to the reciprocable plate, and a releasing device for retracting .said presser'foot, said re leasing device being operatively positioned tobe actuated during the reciprocation oftheplateto release the stack when the plate reaches one; extremity of its travel, and means, foractuating saidarm. p 2. Astructure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reciprocating plate is horizontally slidableandz is reciprocable in one direction to withdrawfrom under the container to drop the bottom cap away from the stack, and in the reverse direction:to convey the said cap from. under and clear of the stack,'and a pair of opposed abutment members forfrictionally' receiving between them ,aYcap the end of its travel and holding tiontoabottle; H i A 3. 'In a bottle-capping machine having "a vertically reciprocable' the cap in place forapplicw w capping plunger and actuating '7 mechanismtherefor, a'cap-feeding device-comprising in' combination a fixed hoppena fixed slideway at the bottom of saidhopper, a recipro cable plate slidably mounted upon said slideway and operable in one direction to permit a cap to drop from said hopper and in the otherdirection to convey said cap beneath said plunger, actuating mechanism for said plate including a pivoted oscillatable lever, operatively connected to the actuating means for said plunger and adapted to impart to said plate motion in timed relation to the operation of said plunger, and releasable holding means for retaining all but one of a stack of caps in the hopper, and means associated with said lever for periodically releasing said cap holding means to drop the stack of caps upon said plate, said releasing means being actuated in timed relation to the reciprocations of said plunger and said plate.

4. In combination with a bottle capping machine having a vertically reciprocable capping plunger and actuating mechanism therefor, a cap feeding device comprising a fixed hopper, a fixed horizontal slideway at the bottom of said hopper, a reciprocable plate slidable along said slideway, said plate in one of its positions serving to close off the bottom of said hopper, a bell crank mounted upon a fixed pivot, one arm of which is vertically reciprocated by the actuating means for said plunger, the other arm being operatively connected to said plate to impart reciprocation thereto in timed relation with the operation of said plunger, and holding means positioned and operative to normally retain all but one of the stack of caps in place in said hopper, and means for momentarily releasing said holding means to drop the bottom cap only of the stack upon said plate, said releasing means being actuated periodically by engagement with an arm of said bell crank when said arm approaches one limit of its travel. 5. In combination with a bottle capping ma- .chine having a. vertically reciprocable capping plunger, a cap feeding device comprising a fixed hopper, a reciprocating plate operative at the lower end of said hopper and in one of its positions serving to close 011? the bottom of the hopper, cap holding means associated with the hopper operative to normally retain all but one of the stack of caps in place in said hopper, and means for momentarily releasing said holding means to drop the bottom cap only of the stack, means for receiving a cap from said reciprocating plate at the end of its travel to frictionally hold the cap in place for application to a bottle in alignment with the plunger, and a unitary means actuating both the said cap releasing means and the reciprocating plate in appropriately timed relation.

6. In combination a stationary hopper for a stack of bottle caps, a presser foot yieldingly supported by said hopper and having a substantially fiat face positioned to frictionally engage the rim of the next-to-bottom cap of said stack, and normally to force said cap against an opposite wall of the hopper, whereby the stack is supported during a part of the operation of the machine, areciprocable plate beneath the hopper for alternately closing and opening the bottom thereof, a slideway beneath said hopper and plate, an arm pivoted to the hopper, said arm being-pin-connected at one end to the reciprocable plate, and a releasing device for retracting said presser foot, said releasing device being operatively positioned in the pathof travel of said pivoted arm and adapted to be actuated thereby to release the stack when the plate reaches one extremity of its travel, and means for actuating. said arm.

7 RUDOLF WM. von SYDOW.

EDWARD J. MCCOY. 

